||| HPC

The future of HPC in Europe is at stake…

Right now, the decision is being made as to what strategy the “Old continent” will be taking in the race to Exascale and beyond. At a time when the two major blocks of countries either side of Europe are competing against each other in their ambitions, the question of European leadership in HPC is more acute than ever. To address that question, the program put together by ETP4HTP is aiming to be concrete, overarching and… intelligently funded.

Support the competitiveness of European HPC technologies to support Europe’s competitiveness in general – that’s how one could sum up the mission of ETP4HPC, the new European Technology Platform for HPC. Established in mid-2012, the organization initially brought together HPC manufacturers and ISVs – Allinea, ARM, Bull, CAPS Entreprise, Eurotech, IBM, Intel, Partec, STMicroelectronics and Xyratex – but also major computing centers and research bodies such as BSC, CEA, CINECA, Fraunhofer, Forschungszentrum Jülich and LRZ.

As a platform opened to any organization working in HPC R&D in Europe, or contributing to the development of a European HPC ecosystem, ETP4HPC is also growing itself. As we go to press, the initiative has brought on board another twenty members, and several SMEs are in the process of signing up.

ETP4HPC was born with the publication of its first Vision paper (http://www.etp4hpc.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Joint-ETP-Vision-FV.pdf), followed several weeks later by its first official letter to European Commission Vice- President Neelie Kroes. After almost a year of preparatory discussions between the members and with political institutions, ETP4HPC’s work has now been set out publicly in its Strategic Research Agenda (SRA): Achieving HPC Leadership in Europe (http://www.etp4hpc.eu/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/ETP4HPC_book_singlePage.pdf). Producing an SRA is effectively the whole raison d’être for an ETP (see Understanding European Technology Platforms in the attached article). Based on the collective vision of those involved in the sector, it sets out a number of paths to be taken, both in terms of research objectives and its sustainable funding.